These ghost signs having been appearing and vanishing again for decades. I remember seeing the "All Cars Transfer to Bloomingdale's" sign in Harlem, even in the 90's. I remember a carriage maker sign temporarily coming to light in Times Square, around 1993. Nobody preserves these things, or very few do.Here's one from 2002, at Broadway and 64th, where there is now a very large commercial and residental building. http://www.image-share.com/ijpg-3188-1.htmlSome of these signs just sit there bleaching in the sun, glazed in frozen water in Winter. I don't know how they manage to last - longer than some tattoos.

Congratulations on winning the Apple Awards! Keep in mind that if you're a guy like me who actually solved the Big Apple, you don't even get nominated! You have to explain to them who you are!...It's been 10 years since Harlem's "Big Apple" was thoughtlessly removed. I told the Guides Association of New York City that they could help to get it back, but no one cares...Twenty-five years ago, I rediscovered model Audrey Munson. The story appeared in Saturday's NY Post, without any credit to me. The model who symbolized NYC died 20 years ago, forgotten by all but me, in an insane asylum. I asked NYC institutions and politicians to help me, but no one would. And so it always goes...

That looks like more than paint. Looks like a paneling was put over the brick, probably to prevent it from crumbling, or to seal it. If brick isn't repointed over time, it can develop horrendous leaks - and judging by the condition of the wall prior, it seems very likely.

Help Us #SaveNYC

"Jeremiah's Vanishing New York has become the go-to hub for those who lament New York's loss of character." --Crain's

"Jeremiah Moss does an excellent job of cataloging all that’s constantly being sacrificed to the god of rising rents." --Hugo Lindgren, New York Times Magazine

"No one takes stock of New York's changes with the same mixture of snark, sorrow, poeticism, and lyric wit as Jeremiah Moss... Even as the changes he's cataloging break our hearts a little, it's that kind of lovely, precise writing that makes Moss's blog essential reading." --Village Voice, Best of NY

“Jeremiah Moss…is the defender of all the undistinguished hunks of masonry that lend the streets their rhythm.” --Justin Davidson, New York Magazine

"One of the most thorough and pugnacious chroniclers of New York’s blandification." --The Atlantic, Citylab